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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30140604">Knight's Defense</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bralatine/pseuds/Bralatine'>Bralatine</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Boy loves his aunt, Gen, In Defense of Satine Kryze, Korkie is a Kenobi, Korkie's obsession with the Jedi, Mandalorians - Freeform, Misconceptions, New Mandalorians, Pacifism, Planet Concordia (Star Wars), Planet Mandalore (Star Wars), Pre Vizsla (mentioned) - Freeform, Rumors, Sundari, The Jedi, who's really his mum</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:49:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,579</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30140604</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bralatine/pseuds/Bralatine</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A trip to the principal's office was not on the Duchess of Mandalore's morning agenda.</p><p>*queue shmaltzy 90s sitcom soundtrack*</p><p>"Today, on a very special episode . . . Korkie Kryze learns that violence is never the answer."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Korkie Kryze &amp; Satine Kryze, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Knight's Defense</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Just a little one-shot that was supposed to be a fluffy little look at Satine and Korkie's relationship, but wound up being sad and saccharine because of course it did. </p><p>It also wound up being a bit of a meta response to those who say that Satine carried out genocide, which I don't see implied at all.</p><p>Thanks as always to friends on the Obitine server for inspiring me. Also, Tol'ket is the-obi-one-for-me's creation, but I love him so much I couldn't resist giving him a mention.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A trip to the principal's office had not been on the Duchess of Mandalore's morning agenda. She'd had to cut short her call with the King of Toydaria when Jeyne had poked her head into her office. There had been someone from the Royal Academy calling with an urgent message.<br/>
<br/>
King Katuunko had graciously released her from the call—stating that he had more than once done the same for his own son—and hung up before Satine could tell him that Korkie wasn't her . . . but it didn't matter.<br/>
<br/>
She'd asked Tol'ket to prepare a speeder for her, and Aramis was waiting even before Jeyne had helped her remove the headdress and lilies from her hair. She didn't need to make an entrance at the Academy. Considering the nature of the call, it was best if she didn't draw undue attention to herself or Korkie. At that moment, she was just another parent of a student at the school. Guardian. Semantics.<br/>
<br/>
Now she was back in her personal quarters with a boy with a black eye, a split lip, and a fistful of swollen knuckles.<br/>
<br/>
Satine hadn't known what she had expected but concern and frustration had mingled when she'd first taken in his disheveled state. Of all the people . . . she was the Duchess of Peace and he was her heir apparent. What would the tabloids say? But she'd put that out of her mind, thanked the principal for handling the situation, and then ushered her nephew to where Aramis was waiting.<br/>
<br/>
Korkie had refused to look her in the eye. He'd refused to tell her what had happened, and had only spoken to assure her that he was "fine." It had been tempting to fill the silence with accusations and remind him of how this could reflect poorly on both of them. But there was a flush to Korkie's cheeks that spoke of his own embarrassment. He was already feeling the weight of what he had done, and Satine could see that. So she hadn't pushed him while they were in the speeder, not while Aramis could hear. Her father may have.<br/>
<br/>
Her father also may have taken Korkie's admission that he was fine as an excuse to drop him back off at his dorms and return to his previously scheduled appointments. But Satine couldn't in all good conscience do that, so she'd told Aramis to take them back to the palace and to tell Jeyne to cancel her other meetings for the day. There were more important things.<br/>
<br/>
Satine grabbed a freezepack from the cooling chamber and a glass of water. Korkie sat ramrod straight on the sofa, cradling his right hand to his chest.<br/>
<br/>
"Here." She handed him the glass, and he swallowed half of it. He breathed in satisfaction and then pressed the glass to his split lip.<br/>
<br/>
Satine took his swollen hand and pressed the freezepack to it. He hissed, and she noticed that he'd split several of his knuckles open.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, Korkie," she breathed.<br/>
<br/>
"Nothing's broken," he said in a dull tone. "The nurse already said so."<br/>
<br/>
Satine stood up once more to retrieve a med pack with bacta and bandages. When she'd returned, Korkie had finished the rest of his water and was picking at his cuts on his knuckles.<br/>
<br/>
"Just leave it, Kor. Don't make it worse."<br/>
<br/>
She sat down again, opened the bacta container, and took his hand in hers. Gently, she began dabbing the cream on his knuckles.<br/>
<br/>
"So, are you going to tell me what happened, or do I need to send Tol'ket to go and investigate?"<br/>
<br/>
Korkie tensed, and Satine looked at him in confusion. She'd meant it as a joke, but he looked genuinely distressed, and she couldn't discern why.<br/>
<br/>
"Korkie, <em>cyar'ika</em>, I'm not mad. I'm just . . . not sure why you found it necessary to resort to violence." She smoothed back a lock of hair that had fallen into his face. "You're not a brawler. You know that's not the way. So, what happened that made you forget that?"<br/>
<br/>
Korkie swallowed hard. His words came quietly and hesitantly.<br/>
<br/>
"Did you kill the warriors on Concordia?"<br/>
<br/>
Satine blinked at the unexpected topic. "Who said that?"<br/>
<br/>
"Sen'war Rook," Korkie said. "He told me his uncle lived on Concordia but that they all died and he said you killed them."<br/>
<br/>
Korkie's lip turned down severely, as if speaking the words brought him close to tears.<br/>
<br/>
"And that's why you punched him?"<br/>
<br/>
"Is it true?"<br/>
<br/>
Satine sighed. This wasn't a new situation. Most everyone in Sundari had heard of the unexpected demise of the Concordian warriors several years before, but this was the third time she'd heard her name linked to their deaths, and now she figured she could look forward to the tabloids catching wind of that story as well.<br/>
<br/>
"No, darling<em>,</em> I had nothing to do with that. Remember how I told you that at the end of the war, we decided that if people weren't happy with Mandalore being peaceful that they wouldn't be able to live in Sundari? That we had to give the people who wanted peace a safe place to live? And so instead we sent the warriors to Concordia, where they could live together if that's what they wanted."<br/>
<br/>
"I <em>know </em>all this!" Korkie said in frustration.<br/>
<br/>
"I know you know," she said, holding up a hand to calm him. "And I'm getting to the point. A couple years ago, they started to die. When he noticed this, Governor Vizsla came to me. You remember him, right?"<br/>
<br/>
Korkie nodded hesitantly. He'd only met Pre a couple of times, at a formal dinner for the administration and on a tour of the governor's mansion on Concordia. But Pre had been friendly, asking him about what he was learning in school and politely saying that no, he didn't know anything about the Jedi when Korkie had told him about the latest reference book he'd gotten his hands on.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, he helped me," she said. "He didn't know what was going on either. He said that some of the deaths were because of violence between the different factions, some of them came from a number of accidents with farm equipment, and some of them just . . . disappeared. No one knew where they went."<br/>
<br/>
"Did you ever find out?"<br/>
<br/>
"No. We still don't know. Governor Vizsla says that perhaps the ones that didn't die left. Maybe they went to one of the other Mandalorian worlds or left the system entirely. But I'm sure Governor Vizsla's investigation was thorough."<br/>
<br/>
"Why?"<br/>
<br/>
Satine cocked her head. "I have no reason not to take his word for it."<br/>
<br/>
"No, I mean, why did they leave?"<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know, darling," she said with a shrug. "I know they aren't happy with me. They don't want peace. They don't want to be part of the Republic."<br/>
<br/>
Satine finished bandaging Korkie's hand and gently rested the freezepack on top of it again. "I had hoped putting Governor Vizsla in control of the moon would help. He understands them and I thought they'd accept him. But I think they got fed up and left."<br/>
<br/>
"So Sen'war's uncle might just have left? He might not be dead?"<br/>
<br/>
She could see in his eyes that he hoped that was the case, not only in order to help dispel the rumors against her, but also for Sen'war. Her kind boy. She wished she could offer greater assurance.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know, darling. We just don't know."<br/>
<br/>
She wondered at the mystery, and hesitated to think what it may mean for Mandalore if the warriors were coalescing somewhere else in the system. It could signal trouble in the future. She made a note to discuss it with Vizsla the next time they met.<br/>
<br/>
"I wish we could know," Korkie said, staring down at his lap and slowly flexing his injured hand. "Then maybe Sen'war wouldn't say such mean things."<br/>
<br/>
"When some people are hurting, they try to hurt others," Satine said, softly. "I'm sorry he hurt you."<br/>
<br/>
"I wasn't hurt," Korkie said. He sat up straighter and squared his shoulders, his torn academy uniform disheveled and crooked and making him look younger and smaller then he was clearly trying to be.<br/>
<br/>
"But you still tried to hurt him back."<br/>
<br/>
"Well, I wanted him to know that the things he was saying were wrong."<br/>
<br/>
"What else did he say?"<br/>
<br/>
Korkie bit his lip, swallowing the words that he'd heard earlier. He shut his eyes and shook his head, a frantic motion, as if he were determined to keep the insults trapped inside. Satine knew what that felt like.<br/>
<br/>
"Korkie, you can tell me." Satine smoothed his hair again. "You don't have to carry it yourself."<br/>
<br/>
"Amis and I found sticks and were playing like we were Jedi. And then Sen'war came over and he said that his <em>buir</em> said that . . . that you know all about the Jedi." He looked down at his swollen hand, and tears trailed down his cheeks. When he spoke again, his voice was a whisper. "He—he said you're a <em>jetii'veriduur</em>, and that all of Mandalore knows it."<br/>
<br/>
The epithet used to sting, especially in the first few months after she'd returned to Sundari, when the few warriors who had only begrudgingly accepted the New Mandalorians' treaty of peace still felt bold enough to whisper sordid rumors about the nature of her relationship with her Jedi protectors. But she'd hardened herself against those slanderous remarks, and now they pinged off of her like stones against beskar.<br/>
<br/>
The boy in front of her would have to develop his own armor.<br/>
<br/>
Satine reached over and took his uninjured hand in hers. "Is that all he said?"<br/>
<br/>
Korkie wiped his runny nose on his arm and shook his head. "He said his mother says you're a <em>di'kutla dala</em> who's ruining Mandalore with your <em>laanduran</em>, and that someday everyone will know you're a <em>hut'uun</em>!"<br/>
<br/>
The words came as if a dam had been broken. They flowed freely, every forbidden word coursing from his lips, and by the end, his hand—still resting in her own—was clenched into a tight fist, tense and coiled and ready for another fight. It was disconcerting, even if Satine understood the impulse. Even if her heart warmed at her darling boy's desire to defend her. But not like this.<br/>
<br/>
"Do you believe those things, Korkie? That I'm weak and stupid and cowardly?"<br/>
<br/>
"No, Auntie!" Korkie's teary eyes were ablaze. "Of course not!"<br/>
<br/>
"Even though I don't think violence is the way?"<br/>
<br/>
"No," he said, more solemnly.<br/>
<br/>
"Then why did you try to prove Sen'war wrong by fighting?"<br/>
<br/>
Korkie looked down at his lap. "I didn't like him insulting you."<br/>
<br/>
Satine pressed her hand into his, interlocking their fingers. "<em>Cyar'ika</em>, I've heard all of those things before."<br/>
<br/>
"But you shouldn't have to!" he retorted.<br/>
<br/>
He was right, of course. Just because she'd gotten used to the name calling, just because she'd fortified her heart and told herself not to listen, it didn't mean it got easier. Especially not after she'd spent over a decade rebuilding Mandalore. She had hoped that her results would speak for themselves and the remaining whispers—which <em>had</em> lessened over the years—would stop altogether.<br/>
<br/>
Now, she knew that they were being passed on to the next generation. It was disheartening, to say the least, especially now that the burden she had carried was now being passed to Korkie.<br/>
<br/>
Still, there wasn't much that could be done. Policing slanderous rumors against the Duchess wasn't exactly the something that would improve her public perception in any quarter, much less the pockets that were determined to think her a villain. Her people had a right to think what they wanted, after all.<br/>
<br/>
"You won't change someone's mind with your fists, and you won't protect my honor with them, either."<br/>
<br/>
"Then how do you get them to understand?"<br/>
<br/>
If Satine had an answer, she'd tell him. How did you get warriors born and bred to believe that honor should be protected by bloodshed and that violence was as much a marker of identity as a clan name to embrace the cause of peace? Changing laws was hard enough; changing minds infinitely more so. And even when one person saw the light, rumors and misconceptions would still persist. She knew fshe wasn't the only one who dealt with such things.<br/>
<br/>
"Korkie, you know a lot about the Jedi, right?"<br/>
<br/>
He looked at her, surprised by the change of topic, but nodded enthusiastically, and Satine knew that he had two whole shelves of Jedi reference holobooks to back up that nod.<br/>
<br/>
"Tell me about them," she said. "Who are they?"<br/>
<br/>
He thought for a moment, and then answered, "They're beings who have special powers. They're not wizards, but they get their powers from the Force, which connects all lifeforms in the galaxy together."<br/>
<br/>
"And what do they do with that power? What do they stand for?"<br/>
<br/>
"They help people, and they keep the peace and pursue justice. They help anyone who needs it, and they're kind and compassionate to everyone."<br/>
<br/>
He spoke with a pride that made Satine smile, and his impassioned expression reminded her of another young man who had convinced her of the Jedis' merits long ago. She was grateful that in a world where too many were quick to fight, the Jedi were committed to their role as peacekeepers. It was why she didn't mind Korkie's fixation, even if it led him closer to the truth than she was comfortable with.<br/>
<br/>
"But there are a lot of people who don't understand those things, do they?" There had been a point where she had not understood, and wouldn't have if it hadn't been for Obi-Wan and Master Qui-Gon.<br/>
<br/>
"A lot of people say they use their magic powers and cast spells to get what they want. They don't care about anyone but themselves. They're selfish and unable to love anyone." Korkie wrinkled his nose, clearly irritated to even recount the ways that other people mischaracterized his heroes. "Oh! And they steal babies that are like them and take them from their families."<br/>
<br/>
"But that's not true, is it?"<br/>
<br/>
"Of course not!" he said emphatically. "They only bring children to the Temple if their parents agree that's what's best for them. And then they find a new family with the Jedi!"</p><p>"That's right," Satine rested her head against Korkie's red-gold hair. Maybe it was selfish of her, when Korkie was so clearly enamored, but Satine had been grateful that Mandalorians weren't typically tested for midichlorians. That she hadn't been forced to make that decision. Of course, not making that decision was a decision in itself, and Satine squelched the tiny voice that asked if she had done the right thing. Of course she had. She returned to the topic at hand.<br/>
<br/>
"And when others don't understand that, what do they do? How do the Jedi change people's minds?"<br/>
<br/>
With her head on Korkie's, Satine felt rather than saw his brow furrow, and then relax in understanding.<br/>
<br/>
"They just keep being Jedi."<br/>
<br/>
Satine smiled.<br/>
<br/>
"And you just keep being <em>you</em>. You be kind, and meet violence with peace and others will want it, too."<br/>
<br/>
She believed that. She did. She had to.<br/>
<br/>
She kissed his forehead, just above where the discoloration around his eye ended. "That's how you can defend me, my little knight."<br/>
<br/>
"I won't forget, Auntie."<br/>
<br/>
"I know, my darling. I can always count on you."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>buir - father or mother<br/>jetii'veriduur - Jedi's courtesan (or words with even more derogatory implications)<br/>di'kutla dala - stupid woman<br/>laanduran - weakness<br/>hut'uun - coward (the greatest insult)<br/>cyar'ika - darling, sweetheart</p></blockquote></div></div>
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